Something wet, warm, and delightfully rough trailed upward from the place where her shoulder met her neck, tracing a path to the sensitive spot just beneath her ear.
“Oh fuck!” Shay gasped, eyes widening as a bolt of pleasure shot straight to her pussy. He might as well have licked her between her legs, because she was pretty sure she’d almost come right then and there.
Whatwouldit feel like to have his tongue lapping at my pussy?
Drakkal lifted his head and released her, severing all contact between their bodies and leaving her cold, alone, and unfulfilled. He gestured to a nearby door. “This way,kiraia.”
Shay looked at him and narrowed her eyes. “Oh, you naughty kitty. That was straight up playing dirty.”
One corner of his mouth tilted up in a smirk that made her already trembling knees weak as he walked to the door. “That was just a taste. For both of us. I still owe you for calling mekitty.”
She eyed him with exaggerated disbelief before following him to the door, which he opened and stepped through. She didn’t allow herself any hesitation in crossing the threshold; it was a bit late for second-guessing her choice, anddamnif that lick alone wouldn’t have been enough to convince her to go anywhere with this azhera.
She raked her gaze over Drakkal’s delectable backside and swaying tail.
And he already promised to eat me.
She barely kept herself from moaning out loud as her coreclenched in need. She really had to do something about that soon…
The corridor they entered wasn’t what Shay had expected—not that she’d really known what to expect to begin with. Its aesthetic was an odd blend of industrial and tasteful luxury. Concrete and exposed ducts, pipes, and conduits were all over the walls and ceilings, but the plush carpet was wine red, divided by thick, rectangular black borders and thin white lines that cut directly across it from one wall to the other. Rectangular panels mounted on the walls at regular intervals provided the light, which had the faintest red tint to it.
“Interesting choices on the interior design here,” Shay said.
“My partner has an affinity for a particular style that even his female cannot shake him from, even though her taste is objectively better than his,” Drakkal replied.
They passed several closed doors, and when they reached the first intersection, they turned left into a similar hallway.
How big was this place? How many people worked for Drakkal and his partner?
What am I getting myself into here?
But the misgivings she should’ve had were absent. Nothing about this reminded Shay of her past experiences on the wrong side of the law, and Drakkal was nothing like the criminals with whom she’d once associated. Hell, so far, this seemed more legitimate than anything she’d been involved in since she was a teenager.
Finally, Drakkal stopped in front of one of the doors and turned to face her. “For the record, most of these people work for me, but I have no control over them.”
Shay arched a brow, but before she could ask what he meant, he pressed the control button beside the doorframe. The door slid open with a quiet whoosh, and Drakkal entered without another word.
Frowning, Shay followed him into what she could only describe as a break room. There was a small kitchen area, complete with what looked like a refrigerator, in one corner, a couple round tables each with half a dozen chairs, and a pair of couches positioned in front of a huge holographic display screen. She spent only a second or two taking it in before her attention was caught by the diverse group of people gathered inside the room, all of whom had turned to watch her enter.
They were gathered around the tables, some sitting and some standing. Three cren, two of whom had the same blue-gray skin and navy-blue hair. The third, who was taller and broader than the others, had slate gray skin and snow-white hair. There were two vorgals seated beside each other, one with brown skin and the other with green. Both sported red tattoos on their right cheeks—she knew thanks to her father that it was an indication of rank in the Vorgal military, though she didn’t know the specific meanings of the markings. The vorgals were accompanied by a female ilthurii with vibrant green scales.
Shay’s eyes finally settled on the couple at the counter. Despite his casual stance, the sedhi was clearly tall and athletically built, with long black hair and bright yellow eyes that matched the faintly glowing markings on his gray skin. He wore a silky red robe that revealed the upper portion of his chest—and all four of his limbs looked like prosthetics similar to Drakkal’s. A female sat atop the counter beside him, one leg drawn up with a tablet on her knee.
Ahuman.
For a moment, Shay was frozen by surprise. It had been so long since she’d seen another human that she’d wondered if there were any in Arthos at all—but here was one now.
The woman lifted her head and met Shay’s gaze. Excitement sparked in her eyes, and a bright smile spread across herface. “You’re here!” the woman said, setting her tablet down on the counter.
A booming, sputtering cough cut off anything else the woman might’ve said. Shay looked to the source of the disturbance; the green-skinned vorgal had spit his drink across the table and was currently choking. The other vorgal frowned, narrowed his eyes, and slapped his choking companion on the back.
“Fuck,” the choking vorgal managed. As his throat cleared, it became apparent what his coughing had been from the beginning—laughter. “Thisis the female that robbed you, Drakkal? You’re getting soft.”
Shay arched a brow as she regarded the green-skinned vorgal. Half his head was shaved, and the black hair on the other side hung in several braids that reached nearly to his shoulder. In addition to the tattoos, he had a few scars on his face—the worst of which was a big, jagged one on the shaved side of his skull.
“Says the guy who almost lost a fight with his drink?” she asked.
Looks of surprise spread across the faces of the others, and within a second, everyone was laughing.